you’re tired.”
“I’m not tired” My voice sounded weary, even to me.
“Liar. Come here.”
With one amazing sweep, he picked me up, cradling me close to him like never before. His arms felt so warm, so comfortable, they made me sleepy. I couldn’t resist closing my eyes just for a second. I heard a soft rustling around us and felt his shirt billow as I leaned in closer to him.
“I think the wind’s picking up a bit,” I whispered and then all went black.
In a matter of minutes we were at his car; the same clearing on the highway where Claire had parked hers. It felt as though we had descended somehow, his feet landing on the gravel with a slight crunch. He managed to open the door for me without setting me down and had me inside and buckled up by the time I opened my eyes. He gestured to a large cup of coffee in the cup holder, still steaming through the little opening in the black dome lid.
“I thought you could use this.”
“How did you know I was…?”
“Just drink.”
Mmm. Caramel Macchiato
.
The bitter liquid burned the raw lining of my throat on its way down but that didn’t stop me from taking huge gulps. I couldn’t resist its warmth. I was chilled to the bone and my nerves were ripped to shreds.
The inside of the Jeep was toasty, as though it had sat idling with the heater blowing while Garreth combed the woods in search of me. My muscles began to unclench as my body slowly reheated itself. Garreth smiled at me as I sipped my coffee with trembling hands, and listened to the precious silence.
Then it dawned on me how quickly we had made it to his car. My trek with the others had taken much, much longer. I was sure of it.
“How did we get here so fast?”
“You fell asleep.”
“You carried me the whole way back?”
I was horrified at the thought of my dead weight in his arms. There wasn’t much Garreth couldn’t do. His angelic abilities never ceased to amaze me, despite how he claimed he would soon be losing them. I didn’t want to think about that right now so I thought of how it had taken a lot for me to navigate my way to the rave, fully alert. I felt guilty about using up the precious warm light he had given me, though a lot of good it had done me tonight. The mental picture of me tripping like an idiot mortified me so I shoved the thought out of my head.
“How on earth did you manage, walking through pitch black woods carrying me? I’m not exactly light.”
“Who said we walked?”
Disbelief must have sparkled across my face and he laughed in response to my ability to once again be dumbfounded.
Hesitantly, I found my voice. “Would you…would you show me sometime?”
Garreth cocked his head to the side, as if reading me.
“I meant, would you show me how we got here so quickly?”
“I would show you anything.”
My heart pounded in my chest at the sound of his voice. We passed Claire’s little white car parked on the side of the turnoff. It made my chest squeeze tighter and I felt the dry lump forming in my throat.
“She’ll be all right, won’t she?”
“That depends.” Garreth’s voice was soft but I could tell he was holding back.
“I don’t understand.”
“Remember when I said things were already set in motion? When a person starts behaving in an unexplainable or uncharacteristic manner than their normal personality, it usually signifies that their Guardian has been…corrupted.”
I thought back to how staggeringly different Claire had been this evening—the hair, the clothes, the music. Even the extreme alterations to the stereo and the disregard for her brother were most definitely not typical of the Claire I knew.
“She wasn’t herself at all. It was like
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
but…real.” I sighed heavily.
The way Claire was adopting Ryan’s interests wasn’t right; in fact, it was border-line unhealthy. I thought of the icy temperature change I had just experienced. That, paired with the whole no-breathing thing,
“I’m not tired” My voice sounded weary, even to me.
“Liar. Come here.”
With one amazing sweep, he picked me up, cradling me close to him like never before. His arms felt so warm, so comfortable, they made me sleepy. I couldn’t resist closing my eyes just for a second. I heard a soft rustling around us and felt his shirt billow as I leaned in closer to him.
“I think the wind’s picking up a bit,” I whispered and then all went black.
In a matter of minutes we were at his car; the same clearing on the highway where Claire had parked hers. It felt as though we had descended somehow, his feet landing on the gravel with a slight crunch. He managed to open the door for me without setting me down and had me inside and buckled up by the time I opened my eyes. He gestured to a large cup of coffee in the cup holder, still steaming through the little opening in the black dome lid.
“I thought you could use this.”
“How did you know I was…?”
“Just drink.”
Mmm. Caramel Macchiato
.
The bitter liquid burned the raw lining of my throat on its way down but that didn’t stop me from taking huge gulps. I couldn’t resist its warmth. I was chilled to the bone and my nerves were ripped to shreds.
The inside of the Jeep was toasty, as though it had sat idling with the heater blowing while Garreth combed the woods in search of me. My muscles began to unclench as my body slowly reheated itself. Garreth smiled at me as I sipped my coffee with trembling hands, and listened to the precious silence.
Then it dawned on me how quickly we had made it to his car. My trek with the others had taken much, much longer. I was sure of it.
“How did we get here so fast?”
“You fell asleep.”
“You carried me the whole way back?”
I was horrified at the thought of my dead weight in his arms. There wasn’t much Garreth couldn’t do. His angelic abilities never ceased to amaze me, despite how he claimed he would soon be losing them. I didn’t want to think about that right now so I thought of how it had taken a lot for me to navigate my way to the rave, fully alert. I felt guilty about using up the precious warm light he had given me, though a lot of good it had done me tonight. The mental picture of me tripping like an idiot mortified me so I shoved the thought out of my head.
“How on earth did you manage, walking through pitch black woods carrying me? I’m not exactly light.”
“Who said we walked?”
Disbelief must have sparkled across my face and he laughed in response to my ability to once again be dumbfounded.
Hesitantly, I found my voice. “Would you…would you show me sometime?”
Garreth cocked his head to the side, as if reading me.
“I meant, would you show me how we got here so quickly?”
“I would show you anything.”
My heart pounded in my chest at the sound of his voice. We passed Claire’s little white car parked on the side of the turnoff. It made my chest squeeze tighter and I felt the dry lump forming in my throat.
“She’ll be all right, won’t she?”
“That depends.” Garreth’s voice was soft but I could tell he was holding back.
“I don’t understand.”
“Remember when I said things were already set in motion? When a person starts behaving in an unexplainable or uncharacteristic manner than their normal personality, it usually signifies that their Guardian has been…corrupted.”
I thought back to how staggeringly different Claire had been this evening—the hair, the clothes, the music. Even the extreme alterations to the stereo and the disregard for her brother were most definitely not typical of the Claire I knew.
“She wasn’t herself at all. It was like
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
but…real.” I sighed heavily.
The way Claire was adopting Ryan’s interests wasn’t right; in fact, it was border-line unhealthy. I thought of the icy temperature change I had just experienced. That, paired with the whole no-breathing thing,
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